Libertà
by Chapter
Summary: The two groups had been feuding forever... The end was nowhere in sight. It was the worst time anyone could have thought of for love...
1. Prologue And Chapter One: Enter Chapter ...

Libertà  
freedom  
  
Prologue  
  
Mornings along the eastern coast of the USA were peaceful, to say something about them. The gulls flew overhead, calling to eachother in their warbly, throaty voices. The towns stirred early, before the sun rose, but as the golden shafts of light illuminated the sky, it crowned the bustling streets with new hope, new glory. The people disregarded it usually, probably because it happened every day. But some never missed it. To those few, it was a breathtaking sight every time. It was the base of life as anyone knew it, the one stable thing one could turn to if all else failed. Most of all, it was a link to what was so familiar, yet still unknown.   
  
Few managed to find much in the daily rise of the sun. Perhaps only two in the world. But those two would eventually find eachother. Even at the worst possible time, they would find eachother. And they would live in eternity.   
  
  
  
Chapter One  
  
The two groups had been feuding forever, or longer than any living witness had been alive. The reason why they fought had long-earlier been buried under the tumulus the strife they put themselves under. No one seemed to care anymore about the truth. The fighting was just a way of life. The Bronx newsies and the New Jersey newsies, referred to as the Bronxes and the Jersies. It is within these two societies that we lay our scene.   
  
***  
  
"Ah, the Jerseys are at it again!" Blade exclaimed as he entered the restaurant the Bronxes met at every night. Freedom rolled her eyes and put her hands on his broad shoulders, shoving him down into a seat.   
  
"Tell me. Dearest. What's happened tonight?" He looked up at her, sighing.   
  
"There've been attacks on the riverfront. Big Shot! You were there. How many of them were there again?" He looked over to a tall boy, his mop of brown, stringy hair bent over a hand of cards, his green eyes penetrating into the poor lad who had accepted his poker challenge. He looked up momentarily at Blade.   
  
"Six, I believe. Against just me an Action. Ain't that right, Action? We were just sluggin' em out."   
  
"Yeah." The short, wide-set Italian responded from his booth in the corner where several fawning girls had collected, 'ohh-ing' and 'aww-ing' over his bruises and busted lip. "Six, an we beat em all. They're easy to bring down, but they just keep coming back."   
  
Blade laughed. Then he turned serious. "I wanna get this all settled." he exclaimed, slamming his fist on the table so that the cups and plates rattled.   
  
"Seriously, boys." Free said, standing to get their attention. "You all are just gonna cool it. I've had enough talk of those horrible Jersies. For Christ's sake, let's eat."   
  
"Amen to that." A few of the other girls muttered. They offered slight smiles to their boys before turning their attention to the food in front of them.   
  
  
  
  
  
Chapter walked into the stuffy, crowded restaurant hesitantly. She longed for her rooftop, but she had been ordered to come to dinner by her over-protective brother, Blade, who had insisted that she eat. Big Shot looked up as she entered and grinned inwardly. He rose from his table, allowing the boy he had been playing with to finally run free. He approached her quickly.   
  
"Heya." He said in a low voice.   
  
"Hey, Big Shot." She said, disinterested. He came up behind her, placing his hands on her shoulders, massaging them slowly and inhaling the scent of her fair skin.   
  
"I missed you today." He said, not loosing the lowness in his voice. He breathed on her neck, snickering when the tiny hairs along her neck stood up. She stiffened under him and shook off his hands.   
  
"Yeah, well I wanted to be alone. I can't be with you every second you're alive." She said, still not making eye contact with him. Again, he snickered.   
  
"Wish you could." He whispered. "Come on, Chapter. You're my girl. You gotta love me." He slowly put his hands around her waist. "You know I love you." He laid his lips on her ear as he whispered it.   
  
"Big Shot, stop it." He didn't. He chuckled and held her tighter to him. "Stop!" She shoved his head away and squirmed out of his arms. Big Shot snickered and gave in, taking a seat across from her at a booth. He didn't move his eyes from her. She sat under his penetrating gaze uncomfortably and consumed her food as quickly as possible. Then she rose.   
  
"I've eaten, oh wise and older brother." She said to Blade, rolling her eyes. "I'm gonna go home now." He sighed as all big brothers do.   
  
"Alright…but you go straight home. I can't believe I'm letting you out on da streets without an escort or something." Chapter rolled her eyes.   
  
Big Shot stood straight up. "I'll take her home!" he said, a bit too enthusiastically for Blade's liking.   
  
"I'm not a baby anymore, Blade." Chapter retorted, ignoring Big Shot's offer. There were always ulterior motives. "I can see my own way home." She huffed and left, still clutching the notebook she had been holding throughout her short dinner. She carried it everywhere as sort of a shield.   
  
She took off at a run as soon as her feet touched the street outside. She ran and ran until she reached home. Then she headed up to her roof. Everyone called it her roof. It was where she spent the most of her time and she was the only one that went up there.   
  
She folded her arms and placed them on the waist-high wall surrounding the roof. Tears came to her eyes, but she swallowed them back. She hated her life. Thoughts of freedom continually filled her mind. The only way to freedom it seemed was through death. She gulped. Death terrified her. She wanted to be free from many things. Big Shot was the person she was dying to be free from. He loved her, and that was obvious, though she wasn't sure weather it was her body or her mind he was in love with. She could not find it in her to love him back, though. He wanted something she had never felt comfortable giving anyone. She regretted the day she had agreed to be his girl, but there was no way for her to take it back. Everything in her life was pointless. She enjoyed nothing in her life. She was never happy. Crying at night and writing were her two outlets, and that was no life for anyone to suffer through.   
  
The night eventually grew pitch black and the stars dotted the sky like millions of sparkling dreams. Everyone came back soon enough and Chapter was forced inside. Blade claimed that she would 'catch her death of cold.' Blade. That was another person she wanted to be free of. But she loved and adored Blade as any younger sister would. It was so hard to run an entire group of newsies AND look after a sister. Chapter didn't feel she needed looking after, but she took all his petty commands in her stride.   
  
"What were you doing up there?" Free asked when she came back into the bunkroom. All the guys had left and Chapter was immensely pleased that Big Shot wasn't in the room.   
  
"Just the usual. Thinking an such." She replied. Free nodded.   
  
"Well, g'night, pumpkin. See you in the morning." She moved off into the washroom.   
  
  
  
  
  
Chapter climbed two flights of stairs, passing the boy's open door, her head bowed, hoping Big Shot wouldn't notice. He didn't and she raced up another to the attic. The attic was a small, tiny room that she had claimed for herself with the permission of Blade. No one else had their own room, and it set her even more apart, but it gave her a slight comfort and a promise of privacy.   
  
The room was furnished with next to nothing. A small table stood at the center of the room, covered with papers, books and the like. A washstand stood in the corner and held on it a cracked porcelain washbowl and a rag. Her bed was a bottom of a broken bunk from one of the bigger rooms and held on it two pillows and a few blankets. The room also held a small wooden chair from the lobby.   
  
She fell down on her bed, sighing outwardly. Freedom! She had to be free. She couldn't take living like she was. She needed out, soon.   
  
It slowly came to her. It was so possible! She would flee. That's it. She would run away and never come back. She didn't have anything to stay for, did she? Well…there was Free and Jazz and Sassy and Keys and all them… And little Flame adored her.   
  
But oh, to be free from Blade and Big Shot! That alone captured her into thinking that this was an okay idea. She would run. She would escape. That very night.  
  
***   
  
When the lodging house had grown silent, Chapter made her escape. She took the staircase to the lobby and left, with nothing more than the few dollars she had saved -her entire life's savings- and her notebook. Where she would go, she had no idea, so she just started walking. Who knew where she would end up?   
  
She took off at a run and fled towards the south, oblivious as to where she was headed. All she knew was that the moon shone brilliantly overhead, illuminating a path seemingly meant for her to take. She wandered aimlessly. For how long, she didn't even know. Her body didn't tire from the long, difficult run she placed upon it. She seemed invincible that night. She would not fall, for she would not allow herself to fall.   
  
But she finally stopped and looked around, gasping when she found herself. She was on a dock, and she most definitely wasn't in the Bronx. Glancing around, everything was foreign. Nothing had anything to do with anything she knew. And she was alone.   
  
She presently fell to the ground, her legs having given out under her. She soaked up the sleep, in a heavy unconsciousness. Her sleep was undisturbed and dreamless, for which she was grateful. 


	2. Chapter Two: Enter Solo, The Lost And Al...

Chapter Two   
  
A boy stalked through the streets, his attention set firmly on the ground in front of him. His view did not waver, neither left nor right. It was over. Everything he knew was wrong. Freedom. Freedom. The thoughts, wishes, hopes and dreams had failed him. His motto had always been, "If you want something done, you've got to do it yourself." So now he was talking matters into his own hands. He was headed to the sea, where his freedom lay. Beneath the frothy, filthy water, his final freedom lay. It was merely a step away.   
  
He charged on, appearing almost instantly at the dock, where our poor Chapter slept. He did not notice her frail, hunched-over figure. He noticed nothing. Not the pale moonlight reflecting softly off the slowly rolling tide, not the quiet breeze that whistled lowly through his hair. None of it, nothing, mattered to him anymore.   
  
He shoved two or three crates out of the way. They hit the ground with a loud bang, waking Chapter with a start. She sat stalk-still in the position she was in, watching him carefully. Retrieving a length of coarse rope from under the crates, he formed a crude noose-like knot in it. This sent terrible thoughts to Chapter's head and she hid behind the fallen crates to remain unseen. Then he took the other end and tied it to a post on the dock. His eyes were ablaze with inner fire, inner hatred.   
  
Loosening the knot, the boy fit his head through it. The picture was finally coming to Chapter. She gasped outwardly, but the boy was too involved with what he was doing. He neared the edge of the dock and stopped. So this was the end. So this was what it felt like to almost be dead. He took his stance, a graceful diving position, and thought of the family he had once known. They had left him to die in the beautiful house he had lived in as they went along with their lives, not even noticing him. The memories burned a deeper hole in his heart and he was ready. He was finally ready.   
  
A piercing scream filled the air around him and broke his concentration. Soon, all he knew was that he was lying flat on his back, the wind partially knocked out of him. The rope had been untied from around his neck almost instantly by a girl, who must have fallen from the sky. She was now sitting on top of him, keeping him from freedom.   
  
He looked at her with a malicious glare.   
  
"What the hell…" He words were lost by the terrified look in her eyes. She was shaking, almost as much as he was. They remained silent, letting the sound of their heavy breathing echo throughout the night. He stared into her eyes, his own mixed with loss and confusion. Had this angel really just fallen onto him, squandering his dream of freedom under her? Lifting his hand slowly, he touched her face, her skin flushed, yet pale at the same time. Words were lost within him.   
  
"Are you an angel?" he asked, still dazed. The look in her eyes wavered from compassion to terror to pity and then back again. What had she just done?   
  
"No." Her words were short and sweet, and still the sound remained in his ears. There was something about this girl…something so different. He had never felt the way his heart felt just then in his entire life. "What were you thinking?" she whispered. He was forced to return to reality.   
  
"I have nothing to live for." He said, lowering his head. "I want to be free."   
  
"That's not freedom!" She was still shaking. He placed his hands on her shoulders and moved her to the ground. Then he slowly sat up.   
  
"It would be for me."   
  
"No…" she said, shaking her head. "Death is not freedom. Death is the end, finality…" She had wanted to end it for herself for so many times. She had yearned for finality once, not just freedom.   
  
Her heart ached at the sight of him. She had just saved his life. Their eyes met, and neither had any intention of looking away. Some say you can feel sparks fly when you look into the eyes of some people. For both, it had never happened. But there is a first time for everything. He kissed her then, softly. Their hearts entwined the moment there lips touched. Neither even dreamed that they were falling in love with the enemy. 


	3. Chapter Three: Enter The Conflict

Chapter Three  
"Blade!!" Free screeched. He jumped from his bed.   
  
"I'm getting up…I'm..." he muttered incoherently.   
  
"Blade, get UP here!" Blade threw on a shirt and stumbled up the stairs. The fresh sunlight filtered through the dusty window in the stairwell, blinding him momentarily.   
  
"What?" he grumbled when he reached the door to the girls' bunkroom.   
  
"No, you louse. Up HERE." She was still a flight up. Again he grumbled as he lumbered up another flight of stairs up to Chapter's room. "She's GONE!" Free cried when he finally entered. Blade stopped and blinked twice in confusion.   
  
"What…?"   
  
"YOUR SISTER WAS KIDNAPPED!" she bawled. By this time, Big Shot had found his way upstairs. He only caught the last sentence; the rest had been just plain mumbling.   
  
"Huh? Chapter…was KIDNAPPED?!" Big Shot sat down furiously on the bed, the old springs sighing under his weight.   
  
"God, Blade. What if the Jerseys took her? What're they gonna do to her? What if they want ransom? What if…what if-"   
  
"Stop!" Blade shut her up. He started pacing as Free sat down with a huff next to Big Shot, who had his head in his hands. Blade started pacing, mumbling. "Anything can happen to a sixteen year old girl in the hands of the enemy…"   
  
A new thought struck Free. "What if some guy down there gets eyes for her, huh? What if he…wanted to…"   
  
"NO." Big Shot exclaimed, glaring at her. "Nobody's gonna touch her, got it? Nobody but me." Blade stared at him for a second before returning to his pacing.   
  
"Well, we gotta go get her. That's obvious. I want Free to come with me. Big Shot, you take a small group an look here in the Bronx. Send some other people into Jersey. We've gonna get her back." He took Free's hand and helped her up. Then he turned to Big Shot.   
  
"If I find her in da hands of a Jersey…I'm gonna kill him, Blade. I will! Don't think I won't! I'll KILL him!"   
  
  
  
***   
  
  
  
Chapter lifted her head, yawning. The boy she had met during the night still slept peacefully next to her. They had talked the night away, and hadn't moved from the dock. Chapter studied him, the golden sunlight illuminating his tanned skin. She smiled in spite of herself. Just looking at him made her heart melt.   
  
He slowly opened his eyes to look up at her, beaming.   
  
"Hello." He whispered.   
  
"Hello." She whispered back.   
  
"I thought maybe you would have left…" he said as he rose to sit up. She shook her head.   
  
"I couldn't leave." She looked into his eyes, his deep brown eyes, and her mind got momentarily lost. He smiled and put his arms around her.   
  
"Good morning, then." He murmured. He kissed her cheek and smirked when he saw her blush. She hugged him close and put her chin on his shoulder.   
  
"What's…your name?" She asked finally. That hadn't come up ever in conversation.   
  
"Solo. And yours?"   
  
"Chapter!! CHAPTER!!" A guy's voice echoed throughout the wharf. Chapter jumped, recognizing Blade.   
  
"Shit." She whispered harshly. Blade rounded the corner and spotted her.   
  
"Chapter! Thank God! We've been looking for you since the crack of dawn!" Free gushed at the sight of her best friend. Then she saw Solo. "Um…" Chapter was still in Solo's arms. Chapter noticed then and slowly separated from him, standing up.   
  
When Blade saw Solo, his eyes grew huge.   
  
When Solo saw Blade, his eyes grew huge. Chapter stared at each of them as their glares grew menacing.   
  
"What…are you doing…with a Jersey, Chapter?" Blade asked quietly. Then it clicked. Chapter gasped and stared at Solo. She slowly began to back away.   
  
"You…a Jersey? Of course…It makes perfect sense…" Her head spun. What had she just done?   
  
"What the hell is going on here??" Free asked furiously.   
  
"You're not a…a Bronx…are you? Oh God..." Solo prayed it wasn't true. It could not be true.   
  
"What is happening?" Free asked, still lost. Blade stared at her.   
  
"Chapter was kidnapped by this…this…this Jersey. An he was holding her an touching her!" He turned to Solo. "YOU DEMON!" he screamed. He leapt at him, tackling him. Chapter screamed.   
  
"NO!" She rushed to their side as they scrambled to hit one another with their flailing fists. She forced herself into them to break them up. Blade's fist flew through the air and hit Chapter on the cheek, sending yells out of all three of their mouths. She landed on the ground and both of the boys stopped fighting. They stared at her, looks of utter confusion on their faces. Chapter looked to one and then to the other. Finally, she stood, glaring with equal menace at her brother and Solo. And then she took off, running as fast as she possibly could without direction, leaving them behind. 


	4. Chapter Four: Enter Suspense

Chapter Four  
Blade stared at Solo, who only stared right back. Free, with her best interests in Chapter's thoughts, saw the boy through her light. Though she did not love him like she, nor did she even like him, she did not hate him, or dislike him.   
  
"Blade." She called softly, He broke his gaze to look at her questioningly. "I believe it is our time to go." He huffed, giving Solo one last glance before turning, taking Free's hand, and leading her away.   
  
Solo sighed, his heart heavier than the night before. He had not meant to attack him. It was only self-defense. He had wanted to murder him the moment his fist had touched Chapter's cheek. He stood at the docks, staring after Blade and Free. In his arms was the sense memory of Chapter. On his lips, the taste of her kisses still lingered. How dare Blade steal her away from him? He needed to find her again. He needed to hold her.   
  
He ran off towards home and threw himself on his bunk, feeling more despair than he had felt the night before. He couldn't die. Not anymore. For the first time in his life, Solo had felt love at first sight. Real, true love. He could never die and leave her. He sighed, closed his eyes, and tried to evaporate.   
  
  
  
***   
  
  
  
Chapter ran and ran, out of Jersey and back into the Bronx, where she didn't stop. Her eyes burned with fury and tears stung her cheeks. So she had finally found the love her heart had forever been yearning for. Just figures, don't it?   
  
She kept on running, never tiring or running short of breath. She dodged the people who got in her way with ease until one threw his arms around her.   
  
"Chapter!" She looked up into Big Shot's face, resisting the urge to cuss explicitly. "Baby! Oh, baby, where were you?" He wrapped his arms around her waist tightly, kissing her over and over. Her cheeks still burned with tears and she couldn't bring herself to kiss him back. He eventually stopped and stepped back, looking her over. "What's wrong, baby?" he asked worriedly. You couldn't blame the guy for not loving her. She couldn't look into his eyes.   
  
"I have to go, Big Shot. I'll…see you later." And with that, Chapter took off, not quite running, but she walked away quickly, praying that Big Shot wouldn't follow. She went straight home, collapsing on her bunk in the attic and staring out the dusty, cracked window next to her bed. Sighing heavily, she fell into a sound sleep, dreaming of that love she had found only a few hours before.   
  
  
  
***   
  
  
"Chapter…" Free whispered, shaking her shoulder softly. "Come on hunny, you have to get up." Chapter groaned loudly and flopped over to glare at her. She had been awake when Free had entered. She had lain perfectly still and had tried to breathe like those asleep. She didn't want to get up. Actually, she wanted to dissolve into the folds of her warm blankets.   
  
"Why…" she whined.   
  
"Sweetie, we have to go to the rally." Free said softly.   
  
"What rally?" she asked drowsily.   
  
"You know…the Bronxes rally? Everybody's gonna be there. We have obligation." And to this Chapter groaned. "Oh come on, Chapter. Sit UP." Grumbling, Chapter sat, blinking the sleepiness from her eyes.   
  
"Why do I gotta go? Nobody's gonna notice if I go anyway…"   
  
"Because Big Shot's worried sick about you. He's downstairs pacing, waiting for you to come back down so he can hold you. That's what he told me, Chapter. Go and talk to him.   
  
"And get this Jersey guy outta your head. It isn't safe for either of you to be sneaking around like that. Look, I gotta go. Blade's waiting. But get down there to Big Shot and he'll make you feel better. I'll see you at the rally." And with that, Free left, out the door and down the stairs. After a few minutes of procrastination, Chapter followed her path, grumbling all the way down the three flights of stairs.   
  
When she reached the lobby, she saw Big Shot, pacing across the floor as Free had described. She reached the bottom of the stairs and he looked up at her, his face immediately filling with relief and happiness.   
  
"Baby!" he exclaimed, rushing over. "Are you okay? I'm so happy you're here." He whispered into her ear, kissing her earlobe softly. Chapter showed no emotion, but moved a step away from him.   
  
"Let's just get this over with." She mumbled. She hadn't looked him in the eye. Big Shot looked at her, hurt by her rejection. But he wouldn't let her know that. Instead, he decided he would just have to be more rough with her. He had been nice that day because of the way he had been rejected the day before. But even THAT didn't work on her, so he'd just have it his way.   
  
The two left the lodging house and started down the street in dead silence. A soft wind blew through the alleys they walked towards Ivory Hall. Big Shot continually stole glances at her, though she looked nowhere but forward. Neither made any attempts at conversation, Chapter plotting her escape plan and Big Shot plotting how he could get her to kiss him again. Soon they approached the hall, its tall, peaked roof reaching up into the early spring twilight. He held the door for her as she entered. As she had expected, it was a packed house. Without so much as a glance backwards, Chapter scooted away from Big Shot and found a few empty chairs in the far corner of the room. A chilled breeze breathed through the open window she sat next to. She sat, resting her arms on the sill, her chin on her arms, staring blankly out the window.   
  
Thinking of Solo, she started to let herself drift off into her own little world. That is how she wished she could live, always in her own little world. Nothing could hurt her there. She watched the stars shine, a piece of the moon glowing, the rest hidden behind a tall tenement building. She heard voices on the street, but paid no attention to them. Until there was someone standing in front of her.   
  
"Chapter?!" the boy whispered excitedly. Chapter looked at him, squinting into the darkness.   
  
"…Solo?" she asked slowly, afraid to get her hopes up.   
  
"Yeah! Oh God, I never thought I'd see you again! Look…Chapter, you have to get out of there. Come with me. Trust me." Chapter leaned closer out the window.   
  
"Why?" She threw a glance over her shoulder.   
  
"Well ya see...my boys... They're out on the streets tonight. They...they might hurt somebody..." 


	5. Chapter Five: Enter Drama And Death

Chapter Five  
As if on cue, the front doors burst open. Several screams were heard as a group of boys, big, tall, muscly boys with chains and clubs and slingshots moved in from the doorway, grinning evilly. The action resembled nothing like that of a grin, but more a sickly grimace as the bunch surveyed the crowd. This group consisted of maybe 15 or less, but through the door, out on the street running in front of the Hall, more boys were visible. Hundreds more boys, or so it seemed.   
  
Chapter stood frozen at the window and Solo didn't budge from his position. She saw her brother emerge from the crowd of frozen Bronxes to face one of the boys in the front of the group. He acknowledged him with the same ghostly grin as he himself wore, staring him in the eyes.   
  
"Romeo." He spit the word out as if it were vile, inhumane.   
  
"Blade." Came the chilling response.   
  
"Get your lousy asses out of the Bronx." Blade growled. Romeo merely smirked.   
  
"Ah, you ain't gonna get rid of us that quickly." He threw a glance over his shoulder at his boys. "Ready, boys?" he called. Chapter watched with a shudder as the grimaces widened.   
  
"Out! Get the girls out!" Blade hollered to everyone in the room, knowing what was coming. There was a mad dash for the exits, of boys quickly kissing their girls goodbye, promising them it would be okay. Girls screamed as they were shoved through the doors, each catching a glance of the Jerseys' slow approach. Several of them wept in fear and groups raced towards the lodging houses where they would sit all huddled up together and pray for the best. Several of the more brassy, tough girls would try to stay and fight, to take advantage of a Jersey moral, "It isn't ever right to strike a girl."   
  
Chapter looked quickly at Solo, shaking with fear, "What are they gonna do to them, Solo?" she whispered. He put his hands into the window, reaching out to her.   
  
"Chapter, come with me. Please…you have to come with me!"   
  
"What's gonna happen, Solo?! What're they gonna do to my family??"   
  
"Chapter, now! Please?" He grabbed onto her wrists. She kept trembling as she climbed out the window and into his awaiting arms. She found him trembling as much as she was. "Come with me…we'll be safe."   
  
Big Shot had seen her climb out the window into someone's arms. He had seen her hurry away, still holding onto him. He had seen that it was a Jersey, and he was ready to kill someone because of it.   
  
  
  
***   
  
  
  
Solo took Chapter to the docks, where they had met the night before. Chapter asked hundreds of questions about the Jerseys and what they were going to do to the Bronxes. Solo answered every one of them with "I don't know," and just held her closer than before, whispering to her that it would be okay, that he would find some way to make it be okay. He let his lips calm her, kissing her flushed skin gently. Chapter stopped thinking so much about the boys back at Ivory and remembered how much she loved Solo.   
  
  
  
***   
  
  
  
Big Shot fought mercilessly against the Jerseys, soaking every one he touched so badly, they fell to the floor, hunched over and had to try to regain the ability to breathe. He was filled with a horrific rage brought to life through witnessing Chapter come into that boy's arms, without a backward glance at him. He should have more respect than that. Way more.   
  
Boys from both sides were being brutally beaten. The exclamations of pain filled the air, while those lying on the ground moaned in agony. Many fled home. When at last the Jerseys were being contained, Big Shot turned to Blade.   
  
"Chapter's gone off with a Jersey. Blade, I'm gonna kill him." And with that, he was gone, out the door and down the street, in hot pursuit of the boy who had stolen Chapter away. Blade hurried after him, leaving his boys behind, trying to protect Big Shot from doing something he would forever regret. Romeo saw Blade leave. His main goal through this whole fight had been to soak him bad, and he hadn't yet gotten his shot. He ran after Blade. The bloodshed still went on.   
  
  
  
  
  
"Chapter!" Big Shot yelled when he saw her, sitting in Solo's lap, kissing him deeply. She looked up suddenly and watched as Big Shot raced up and sent his fist through the air. It was caught about three inches away from Solo's nose by Blade, who was yelling at him. Romeo followed shortly after.   
  
"Solo!" He screamed at the boy, "What the hell are you doing with that…that…whore? She's only out to confuse you, boy. Listen to me." Blade had let go of Big Shot to attack Romeo.   
  
"Don't you EVER talk about my sister that way!" Blade yelled as he landed a punch in Romeo's jaw. Romeo stumbled back, amazed and appalled. He drew a sickeningly sharp dagger from a sheath at the side of his pants and held it poised at Blade.   
  
Chapter let out a piercing scream. Big Shot had run at Solo and the two had begun a brutal fistfight, taking them, all over the docks, swinging at each other. Terrified and without better options,   
  
Chapter fled towards home. She didn't want to see the outcome of this pointless and ruthless battle.   
  
Blade drew his own knife, his trademark. He held it at Romeo, daring him silently to approach him. Romeo darted towards him and Blade just barely blocked his shot. The two fought back and forth, one lunging and the other blocking, back and forth and back and forth without end. Until Romeo's dagger was knocked from his grasp. It flew through the air and slid off the edge of the dock into the black water below. Romeo was unarmed. When one was unarmed, it was custom in New York to cease the battle and name the one still holding his weapon victorious. But Blade's fury had long since clouded those thoughts from his mind. Blade lunged a final time. The knife's blade sunk deep into Romeo's abdomen. His eyes went wide as he slid to the wooden dock, defeated. He uttered not one sound.   
  
Solo had seen his leader fall. He watched his eyes close and his chest stop rising and falling. He had seen his leader die. Romeo had taken him in like a brother when he was only 12 years old. He had lived with the Jerseys ever since then under Romeo's strict, but caring watch. And now he had seen him die.   
  
He threw Big Shot away from him with more strength than either of them had known he possessed. He landed in a heap near the end of the docks and didn't move to get up, clutching at his side where he knew he had broken a rib and feeling gently at his eye, the one that everything looked dizzyingly blurry out of. He watched to see what Solo would do.   
  
Solo started throwing punches at Blade, who was lunging with the lethal dagger. Solo flew with dire accuracy and speed. He hit his hand and the dagger dropped from his hold to the floor at Solo's feet. Blade stopped, staring wide-eyed at it. Solo stooped, taking the thing in his hold and turning it on its owner. Blade never tried to get away. He never tried do avoid the dagger's lethal path. It landed in his chest, slipping through his ribs and stilling his heart instantly. Blade fell to the ground, dead.   
  
Big Shot had seen it all. He jumped from his position, exclaiming in horrendous fury. Blade was dead. Blade was gone. He lit out of the docks towards home and towards Chapter. He had to tell her, to scream in her face how evil this boy had been. She had to see her mistake, and she had to pay. He would have to make her pay. 


	6. Chapter Six: Enter Jealousy

The door to Chapter's attic room slammed open and bounced back, revealing a gaping hole left in the wall from the rusted door handle. Big Shot's arm held it from shutting again. He gazed into the room, a stone-faced look set in his eyes. Chapter, seated on her bed, her arms resting on the dusty windowsill, jumped and faced him quickly. Her heart was pounding, her breath coming to her in quick gasps.  
  
  
"Big Shot!" she gasped. He only nodded and stepped into the room. "What's…wrong?" she asked quietly.  
  
  
"What's wrong?" he mimicked her, "What's…wrong?" He was now only 3 or so feet from her face. "BLADE IS DEAD!" He bellowed. "Your brother is lying DEAD on the docks!" he took a deep breath and regained his posture. "And you know who holds the knife that killed him? Do you know who KILLED him, Chapter?" Chapter's vision was blurry with inkept tears. She just shook her head slowly. "A hint: Who would kill him, hmm? Who would kill your brother?"  
  
  
"R-Romeo?" she stuttered, now shaking with fear.   
  
  
Big Shot only laughed, "Dead men can't kill. Blade took care of the bastard before he could touch him."  
  
  
"Blade would never kill anyone!" Chapter retorted as soon as the words were out of Big Shot's mouth. Again, Big Shot chuckled that evil chuckle of his. He came close to her. So close that Chapter could feel his breath cascade over her neck.  
  
  
"Solo." He whispered. "Solo holds the knife, Chapter." Chapter gasped and started shaking her head in disbelief as the tears rolled down her cheeks.   
  
"No," she whispered, "No no no." Big Shot smirked and leaned in towards her. He kissed her deeply and passionately and wouldn't let her go when she squirmed in his hold. The tears were a constant stream down her sun burnt, wind whipped face. When at last he let go of her, she collapsed backwards onto her bed. Her chest rose and fell as she glared menacingly at him.   
  
"Leave." She whispered harshly, "Get out of here."   
  
"Of course. Thank you for your time." He dipped his head to her and turned to leave, "Oh, and I'll be taking care of that little problem. Solo, I think his name was." He called over his shoulder. The silver hilt of Blade's dagger glittered in the frail moonlight that radiated in from the cracked window in the hall. He turned and disappeared down the steps and into the merciless, nighttime streets. 


	7. Chapter Seven: Enter The Jersey World

Chapter Seven  
The sky was painted a deep, crimsonlike blue that night. Even when the darkness of night filled the sky, the moon held a reddish hue. Still the wails of the seagulls filled the docks. And yet now, the gulls had a duet with the sullen weeping of the heartbroken, the ones who's loves had been ripped from them that night of horrible bloodshed. Still, the murky water lapped at the warped wooden posts keeping the wharves afloat. But the water flowed with the spilled blood and shed tears of the now lost and lonely. This night, seemingly undistinguishable, was a night that changed everything in some people's worlds. Most would never again be the same.   
  
***   
  
A group of people sat huddled in a bunch, some crying, some ripping things to shreds in their hands to relieve their violent anger. Their clothes were ragged, warn and re-warn by a younger member when they were outgrown. Their speech was hurried and whispered, holding a note of horrible anger or deepest sorrow or dying despair. They sat on the wooden floor of a rundown, abandoned building with a few added beds and sparse chairs and a table or two. The walls had peeling wallpaper and dusty windows. These were the Jerseys.   
  
"Dead. Dead. He's…dead," a girl whispered over and over. This was Iris, Romeo's only love.   
  
Next to her sat Griffin, holding Shadow, his girl, tightly in his arms. The two spoke not a word to eachother as they sat there together. Blade was gone. That meant that Griffin was to lead. He wasn't ready for that position.   
  
Wisecracks was the only one standing as he paced back and forth. He droned on quietly to himself all the thoughts racing through his head while Words, his girl, sat by his pacing track, telling him mindlessly to sit down.   
  
There were three young ones in the group, ages ranging from 4 to 9. These children were too young yet to understand the momentous tragedy that had occurred that night. Freckles, the smallest, a girl of 4, was asleep on the old couch. Her sister, Fidget, had an arm about her as she stared off into space. Her secret love had been badly wounded by a Bronx and was upstairs, engulfed in a painful sleep.   
  
The other two children, Insect, a boy of 8 years, and Sassy, a girl of 9, were usually racing around the lobby, making rude jokes and poking fun at eachother, but due to the more quiet tone of the night, they were abnormally quiet. They sat up straight amongst the group, not comprehending why the girls cried or why the boys were so mad. But they didn't want to disturb them lest they take out their anger on them. They would soon fall asleep as well, following Freckles' example.   
  
A boy stood at a window, separate from everyone else. His name was Loner, and it was a great description of his character. He stared out the window and up into the tiny patch of starry sky visible through the gaps of the tenement buildings surrounding the lodging house. Blue, one of his few close friends, sat in a wooden chair a few feet away, thinking silently to himself as well.   
  
"Where's Solo?" Blue asked of Loner who turned to face him.   
  
"He wasn't at the docks," Loner noted.   
  
Blue nodded, "I hope he doesn't get himself into any more trouble with those damn Bronxes."   
  
"D'you think he killed Blade?" asked Loner.   
  
Blue sighed, "It's hard to tell. But if Romeo died first," he gulped, "Then somebody had to take care of Blade." Loner only nodded.   
  
The two were silent for a while, each thinking their own thoughts, "D'you think…there's a girl involved?" Blue asked almost timidly.   
  
"God save Solo if there is." Loner muttered, shaking his head. 


	8. Chapter Eight: Enter Guidance From A Fri...

Chapter Eight  
Solo ran through the alleys and past the buildings, racing madly to get to Chapter's lodging house. He had to find her. He had to try to explain. Turning a corner, he saw it, the Bronx Newsies Lodging House. He knew better than to enter from the front door, where he would be mauled until death by the group of mourning newsies in the lobby. Instead, he looked up.   
  
At the very top of the building stood a small window. Solo could make out the faint flickering of a candle. He knew Chapter had to be up there. Quickly and silently, he climbed the fire escape that led to her window. When he reached the top, he peered into the room behind the window.   
  
It was cracked, with pieces of the glass missing, and he could hear movements inside. He looked harder and tried to see past the thick dust. The outline of a girl was stretched out on a battered cot. She was sobbing, crying so hard that it hurt Solo's heart. Yes, this was Chapter. He didn't disturb her for a while as he just stood there on the fire escape, gazing in on her. He was so scared. This was the first time since he was little that he ever remembered being scared. He didn't want to hurt her and he didn't want to be hurt by her. What if she wouldn't talk to him? What if she wouldn't look at him? He didn't dare take the chance.   
  
  
  
***   
  
  
  
Chapter stirred, wiping her tears away. The tears seemed to come and go. She tried to be strong, to lift her head high and take it all in her stride. She about killed herself every time she recalled all the times she had said she wanted to be free from her brother. Now, all she wanted in the entire world was to have him back, standing in front of her and yelling at her for this or that. But he wouldn't ever do that again. He was dead.   
  
With that blunt thought, she broke down again and the tears ran anew. How could he do that to her? How could he die and leave her? She needed him, damnit. She needed him…   
  
  
  
***   
  
  
  
The old iron of the fire escape lurched and squeaked as Solo shifted his weight to the other foot. He stopped mid-motion and gulped. Chapter had heard, he was sure of it. And he was right.   
  
Chapter came to the window and saw him. She exploded with emotions. Words wouldn't come to her lips. The two just stood where they were for a few moments, Solo with eyes wider than dinner plates, Chapter with so many emotions coursing through her, she appeared emotionless, and the cracked window between them.   
  
"Solo," she finally uttered.   
  
"Chapter, please…you have to understand…" Solo pleaded. He put his hand on the glass, desperate. Chapter turned her back to him, her body shaking. He couldn't see her cry. She had to be stronger than him. "Chapter! Listen to me! Please? You have to listen to me…" She slowly turned back around. The fresh tearstains that ran down her cheeks shone in the pale moonlight. She moved to the window again and put her hands on the base of the window pane. Giving it a push, it moved upwards an inch or two. She fought with the stubborn window for a few more minutes, still shaking from her tears until she finally gave up and turned and walked away, frustrated. She gave into her sobs and they racked through her body mercilessly.   
  
Solo wasn't about to give in that easily. He himself grabbed onto the window, half opened. He heaved against it several times until it permitted enough space for him to crawl through. Solo approached her slowly. She was facing the wall, resting her forehead against it, still sobbing. He put a tentative hand against her quivering shoulder. She shrugged it off as soon as it touched her and whipped around. She punched him in the gut hard, her face twisted in terrible agony.   
  
"How could you kill him?!" She howled, "How could you, Solo? HOW?!" He recoiled from her blow, it being harder than he had known she could hit. She promptly collapsed onto her cot, a few feet away. Her sobs grew harder by the moment.   
  
Solo regained his composure and came to the cot. He picked her light body up in his arms, sat down on the cot, and held onto her. She protested and tried to hit him, succeeding plenty of times. Solo took every blow and didn't shy from anything, word or fist. She could never hurt him as bad as he had hurt her, but he was willing to take everything she had for him.   
  
He whispered words to her, the same comforting words he had whispered to her earlier that night. She continued to cry and flail her fists at him and yell horrible words at him. He knew that those weren't true words. But he didn't say anything to her besides his comforting, sweet, quiet words.   
  
When at last Chapter gave into his kind words, she dropped her fists and fell against him, exhausted. She cried still, but with less vigor. Solo put his arms around her, whispering to her, letting her cry as long as she needed to. He kissed her cheek softly and wiped away the tearstains littering her freckly cheeks. He pulled a few strands of her reddish brown hair away from her face and kissed her forehead.   
  
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Chapter. I'll understand if you never speak to me again. But if this is the last time that I'll hold you in my arms, know that I love you. I love you, Chapter." Chapter only cried and nuzzled closer to him. She couldn't respond to that. What was she supposed to say? She couldn't forgive him. Not yet.   
  
"I love you." she whispered so quietly. Her voice was so meek. They both fell silent with only the sound of Chapter's soft sobs filling the room.   
  
Chapter heard a stair creak. It was from the staircase outside her door, the 4th stair from the bottom to be exact. That stair always creaked.   
  
Chapter jumped up, "You have to get out of here!" she whispered urgently, "They'll kill you," Solo hurried to the window, looked back at Chapter, who had followed him, and kissed her cheek quickly. Someone pounded at the door.   
  
"Go!" she hissed. He was out the window. He hurried down the fire escape. The door opened.   
  
Free stepped into the room. Chapter still stood at the window, looking terrified.   
  
"Are you alright, Chapter?" Free asked softly. "You haven't come down in hours." Chapter didn't budge from the window, trying to conceal the outside view. Solo was racing down the street, away from her. Free eyed her suspiciously, "What are you doing?" She moved over to where Chapter was standing and pushed her gently out of the way. Chapter gulped and shut her eyes tight.   
  
Free saw. She saw the boy running down the street. And then she turned back to Chapter, infuriated. Free slapped Chapter hard.   
  
"He killed your brother!" she screamed. Chapter fell back, against the wall. Her hand was against her red, stinging cheek and she was sobbing in pain, anger and humiliation.   
  
"I love him, Free! I LOVE him!" Chapter glared at her, shaking in fury.   
  
"But you loved your brother more! Have you thought of that? I loved Blade, Chapter. I LOVED him. But now he's DEAD!" Free was crying again, for the hundredth time that night. "He's dead. And that boy…that…boy killed him. The one you love killed your family!"   
  
"I don't care." She said softly. So softly, Free almost missed it. She stopped her droning and turned to her, her eyes livid with inexpressible anger.   
  
"Don't you DARE say that, you stupid, foolish girl! Don't SAY that! HOW COULD YOU SAY THAT?! You care, Chapter. Oh, God you care. You just don't know how much you care." Free turned from her and cried so hard she couldn't speak. She tried to stop her tears, to get more of the words she had to say out, but it was impossible. Now Chapter could speak.   
  
"I love him, Free. I will love him for a long, long time. I can't change what he's done. I can't…bring Blade back. I loved him, too, Free. He was my brother, I loved him more than any of us. And he's gone."   
  
"Big Shot. He's gonna kill Solo if he finds him. You know that, don't you? He's out on the streets, looking for him now."   
  
Chapter bolted from the room, down the stairs and out the main doors onto the streets. She had to find Big Shot. Or she had to find Solo. Either way, she had to find someone, to make them stop their pointless game. Nothing good could come of it.   
  
  
  
***   
  
  
  
The crescent moon shone over the New York streets. Loner of the Jerseys stood at his window, gazing up at it. Free, still in Chapter's room, stared out the window, up into the face of the beaming moon. Solo, from in the streets, saw the moon as it lit his path. Big Shot let the moonlight guide him through his lethal course. And the moonlight, from the same moon, reflected off the water of the river, shone in the drying pools of blood staining the docks, and echoed over two dead bodies.   
  
The deep blue sky was still. 


	9. Chapter Nine: The End

Chapter Nine  
  
  
Chapter ran through the night, blinded by her fear and anger. She had to find Big Shot. She had to stop him before he found Solo…or Solo wouldn't make it out alive. She knew Big Shot. She knew that he wouldn't leave Solo alive if he found him. He had stolen his love and killed his leader. There wasn't much more he could do to make Big Shot more angry, aside from seeing morning come.   
  
The lamp posts that lined the streets cast a dim, gloomy glow to everything it touched. The night was crisp and cool and, though it was summer, Chapter shivered. She raced down the street the lodging house was on and into Jersey, following another street that connected to the lodging house street. Turning back into the Bronx, she was near the docks. She shivered again, though not from the late night chill. She couldn't bring herself to look into the murky river.   
  
  
  
***   
  
Big Shot walked straight ahead through these streets he knew so well. Solo had to be out there somewhere, Big Shot knew it. So he would just keep walking until he found him. And when he found him… He massaged his knuckles with the thought.   
  
He had been wandering ever since he had stormed out of Chapter' room, several hours before, and his search had not tired. He WOULD find him, or else his destiny in life would have failed.   
  
Turning onto the street near the docks, he stared out into the horizon where a thin strip of black lay. It was the river. He glared and kept walking.   
  
  
  
***   
  
  
  
Solo hurried on his way home. He had to get home. He had to. The night streets weren't very inviting ones. Freedom, freedom. The word chorused in his ears. If only he had taken his life that night, if only he could have been freed. But no. That night he had found Chapter. That night had changed his life forever.   
  
Silently, he found his way through the streets, with only the sparse light from the street lamps and the stars and the moon. If he got home, then he would be safe. But he had to get home first. The street he was on led straight for Jersey. If he kept going, he was certain he would make it. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught glimpses of the crescent moon reflecting in the water of the river. That river was no longer warm and enticing. It was cold, bleak and lonely.   
  
  
  
***   
  
  
  
Chapter walked further down the street, losing hope with every step she took. As she paused in a circle of light emitted from the street lamp, she sighed and looked around for any sign of…   
  
Solo! Solo was coming towards her. She didn't dare move. When he saw her, he broke out into a run and scooped her up into his arms. He swung her around a little and set her back down, looking into her face. Her face was grave and saddening, and he asked her what was wrong.   
  
"Big Shot," She whispered. "Big Shot is looking for you. He's trying to—trying…to kill you."   
  
Solo nodded, "I know." He whispered back, kissing her cheek. "I won't let him. I'll live through tonight." Chapter let out a tiny smile and hugged him close, closing her eyes tight. He only hugged her back and the two stood in their silence, warding off the ominous fear with the other's presence.   
  
  
  
***   
  
  
  
Big Shot turned another corner onto the street leading to Jersey. He was heading there to pick out Solo, since he couldn't seem to find him here. With the gloomy light from the street lamps around him, he felt invincible. Solo would die that night, he was certain of it.   
  
He walked on, these thoughts swimming in his head, until he stopped abruptly. His eyes narrowed, his fists clenching tighter than they had been already. Forth stood a street lamp, and under that street lamp stood two lovers, holding eachother close. Looking closer, he caught the outline of Chapter's body. The one she held was Solo.   
  
He crept towards them silently. The closer he got to them without them noticing the better. His hand slinked to the pocket in his coat where a satisfying bulk lay. Drawing forth the thing from beneath his coat, the starlight caught the silvery metal and reflected it off into the streets.   
  
Chapter jerked her head upwards, catching the glint of something in the distance. Someone was lurking in the shadows. Quickly, she looked up into Solo's face, "He's here," she whispered hastily. Solo turned around quickly, staring into the shadows.   
  
Big Shot didn't dare move.   
  
Solo looked down again into Chapter's worried, panicked eyes, "Everything will be alright." He assured her again, leaning in to place a kiss upon her trembling lips.   
  
Two shots rang out from the darkness. Big Shot's eyes glowed menacingly, his face contorted in anger, jealousy, sorrow and even fear. He held in his hand a stolen revolver from one of the shops he had passed on his way. The bullets whizzed through the air, set deadly on their targets: one for Solo, one for Chapter. She deserved to die as much as Solo did.   
  
One missed and grazed by Chapter. The other reached Solo. He collapsed instantly with a grunt and a groan. Chapter fell next to him, exclaiming in horror. Big Shot was frozen where he stood. He had hit a man with a bullet. He was mortified.   
  
"Solo," Chapter whispered quickly, "Solo, where did it hit you?" She was shaking now more than ever. Her tears couldn't fall, not for Solo to see.   
  
Solo couldn't manage words. He only moved his hand tentatively away from his side where he had clutched his wound. The blood ran freely. Solo's right hand was soaked in his blood, the wound in his lower left abdomen, right below his heart. He snapped his eyes closed groaning again, louder. The pain seared through his body.   
  
Chapter eyed the wound and looked back into Solo's face again quickly. She put her hand against his cheek and he swallowed, opening his eyes slowly, covering her hand with his own.   
  
"It's…not that bad…" he whispered in the frail voice he had left. "I'll be alright."   
  
"No…" Chapter murmured, "I don't think you will." She bit her bottom lip hard to keep the tears back, so hard that she tasted the salty blood. A single tear broke free and rolled down her cheek silently. Solo saw. He brushed it away gently with his thumb.   
  
"Don't cry for me." His breath was growing short. He struggled to breathe.   
  
"I'll never be able to hold you again…" Chapter moaned, "I'll never watch the stars with you…like I did that night I found you…"   
  
Solo managed to find a smile in all the pain he felt, "I see the stars now." He mumbled, "They're beautiful. And watching them pass like this, like we are right now, there's nothing else in the world I'd rather be doing." He brushed away more tears from the constant trail that flowed down her cheeks. She began to sob.   
  
"No…" she wailed, "No, Solo please… Please, I need you here! You can't…you can't…die…" She hid her face in his upper chest and sobbed until her eyes hurt. Solo lifted her chin gingerly with his fingertips.   
  
"I love you." He murmured. "You're—beautiful. Like the- Like the stars-" He hadn't much strength left in him. Holding her weeping face in his hands, he lifted his head off the ground. With one quick, silent kiss, he said goodbye. And then he was gone.   
  
  
  
***   
  
  
  
Chapter sobbed harder and louder, wailing the cry of misery reserved only for the lost and the mourning. That night had heard this wail more times than once. Her whole body shook horribly as she cried, the sound of her sobs ricocheting off the surrounding buildings for all to hear.   
  
Free had taken a band of Bronxes into the streets to find Chapter and Big Shot and to bring them home. With the cry of anguish she heard, she knew that she was too late and her heart plummeted. Hurrying the others along, they found Big Shot, frozen where he had released the shots. The gun had fallen to his feet. Free shoved him forward and the group approached the wailing Chapter, almost rabid with her grief.   
  
"YOU!" she screamed leaping from Solo's side when she spotted Big Shot, "You! You KILLED HIM!" Big Shot's eyes were wide, glued to Solo's still form. Chapter flew towards him and was only stopped by Free who held tight onto her flailing arms. She wouldn't let go and Chapter struggled against her for a minute before her anger began to fade. She looked at the group that had gathered around Solo and herself. One, Nadia, was clutching the gun. Chapter eyed the thing with a malicious glare and snatched it from Nadia's hands. She stepped back staring at the shiny gun, running her fingers over the smooth barrel.   
  
The Jerseys as well had begun to appear. They stared with horror in their faces at Solo's still, blood-soaked body and then up around to the faces of the Bronxes who were staring right back. Griffin lost it and flew forward trying to attack any of them he could touch, yelling in fury. He and Action got into a fistfight and Chapter went off.   
  
"STOP!" she screeched, the gun pointed at the two, "DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND? Can't you SEE why three of us are DEAD? It's because of your stupid hate and your stupid jealousy! Look at eachother! What do you see, huh? Action, what do you see?"   
  
"I see a killer and a beast." He spat towards Griffin.   
  
"I see a scab, a traitor!" Griffin shot back. The two groups tossed hateful words back and forth, the energy running higher and higher between the two. This wasn't what Chapter had been hoping for.   
  
"Do you know what I see?" she rang out over them. They stopped and stared at her. She looked into the faces of the Jerseys. No hate or fear was anywhere to be found on her own. "I see a newsie. I see a human being. I see a friend, a brother and a sister. Why do we hate eachother? Why do we fight? It results in this." She looked down at Solo, tears in her eyes again. "It results in death. It starts in fear, jealousy. And it ends in anger, hatred, pain. Perhaps it is I that doesn't understand. I don't understand the hatred or the fear. But now, Three lay dead, killed by our own hands, by our own HATRED!" She screamed the vile word out and it echoed through the waning darkness. She collapsed onto her knees, doubling over to try to collect herself again. Her eyes were on the gun. She lifted her head slowly, holding the gun in her hands again. "I don't want to see this hatred. I don't want to see this pain any longer. I want to be free. Desidero essere libero." The gun's point was held at her heart. She looked dead straight into the eyes of the people surrounding her. With her eyes blurry from her tears, she couldn't distinguish a Bronx from a Jersey. There was no difference. Why couldn't they see that? Why did she have to prove it to them this way?   
  
Chapter gulped, feeling the fear that had so often gripped her heart. But she disregarded it this time. She was ready to give in now. She had nothing to live for, her existence was pitiful. The gun was glued to her chest. She glanced into Free's eyes. Her gaze shifted from Free onto Nadia. From there, she saw Star, Action, Jazz, Wolfe, Voice. Flame, the little one, hid behind Poet's legs, shaking with fear. She looked into the faces of the Jerseys. Words was weeping just as Star was. They were all feeling the same emotions. Loner stood still, staring at her. Griffin held Shadow's arm tight. Even little Freckles clutched Fidget's legs as she wept silently.   
  
"I will be free" she whispered to everyone, a pleasant, happy smile on her face. "Non pianga per me."   
  
A shot sounded and was quickly silenced. Chapter tumbled over in a heap next to Solo. Everyone in the crowd had screamed. None of them had tried to stop her. WHY hadn't they tried to stop her? Because she wouldn't listen, that's why. She had wanted this. She had wanted her freedom.   
  
Her smile was still on her lips as she lay next to the one she loved. She was safe now. She would never again feel the fear or the pain. No one could ever bring her back. But at last she was free.   
  
  
  
***   
  
  
  
Griffin looked over at Action to find Action looking back at him. There was no anger or hatred in their faces. That seemed to have died with the four that had been taken that night. But their eyes were filed with fear. Fear of the past and fear of the coming future. What was to become of them no that everything had resulted in death? Something was going to change.   
  
Slowly, gracefully, almost like a dance, the Jerseys and the Bronxes approached one another. Not a word had been spoken. The girls found themselves hugging the other girls, the boys shaking hands, their heads bowed in shame. The little ones were in the arms of an older one, crying hard against their shoulders. They didn't know why that boy had died or why that girl had gone and shot herself. They didn't know anything about the hatred and the fear. They could only feel the sorrow in the losses.   
  
Finally, the two groups stooped and picked the two bodies up from beneath he street light. Bronx or Jersey didn't matter anymore. The group walked off, towards the Bronx Lodging House, as it was closer. Each and every one of them were silent.   
  
  
  
***   
  
Free stayed behind. Stooping, she picked the revolver up from the ground, dusting off the dirt that had covered it. Never before had she seen such an ugly, threatening thing as this gun. A shiver ran through her.   
  
Free looked up from the gun out past the river, into the horizon where the first frail fingers of the morning sunlight were reaching up into the sky. She stood where she was and watched it. The gulls called to eachother in their warbly, throaty voices. People began to venture out from their homes onto the streets, ready for another day. Most people disregarded the rising of the sun. Probably because it happened every day. But some never missed it… 


End file.
